First the SEC issues a Wells Notice, and threatens an NRSRO registration C&D, and now the head of the firm's sovereign rating group, arguably the most important business aspect left to the discredited rating agency, leaves the company. Time for Moody's to issue a D-rating on itself. We wonder just who the administration's hand-picked replacement for Mr. Cailleteau is going to be.

From Reuters:

Pierre Cailleteau, head of the sovereign rating group at Moody's Investors Service, is leaving the firm, a spokesman for Moody's said on Tuesday.

A date has not yet been set for his departure and a permanent replacement has not been named, a spokesman said. Bart Oosterveld, chief credit officer for public sector ratings, which includes sovereign ratings, will lead the sovereign team on an interim basis.

Cailleteau's decision to leave was his own and was not related to market events or recent criticisms of rating agencies, the Moody's spokesman said.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and officials of European Union have all leveled harsh criticism at rating agencies and called for reviews of whether they had worsened Greece's debt crisis.

The charges came after S&P downgraded Greek debt to junk status as a rescue package for the debt-laden nation was being put together.

The three major rating agencies have also been accused of carelessness in the run-up to the global credit crisis in handing out high ratings on pools of mortgage and consumer debt that subsequently unraveled.